Get Ready for Action!!

Before you begin your mission, get a pen/pencil, some paper, and download the mission brief:

Download Mission Brief

Pen/Pencil

Paper

What’s that tile?

This mission is broken, and we need your help to fix it. It’s all about the tiles you can see on the walls in the Palais. Beautiful aren’t they! Scroll down to work out what the problem is.

TASK

Walk around the palace and click on the hotspots on the tiles. When you click, it tells you which part of Tunisia’s history influenced its design. But some of the hotspots are missing, and for some, the origin isn't clear - it just says Qallaline, which is a mix of historical influences. It should tell you which part of Tunisia's history influenced the tile's design most strongly. We don’t know why, but we think the designer just didn’t know enough about the tiles’ origins to finish it off.

TASK

Look at the tiles below, Each tile has a letter, which is revealed when you hover over it. Write down the letters of the three tiles which are most similar to each other. From the remaining tiles, write down the letters of two tiles which are very different to each other. For the remaining four tiles, write down the letters of two tiles which are very different, and two tiles which are more similar.

Tile A

Tile D

Tile G

Tile B

Tile E

Tile H

Tile C

Tile F

Tile I

TASK

When you thought about the similarities, which criteria did you use? For example, you may have put the tiles together according to colour. Make a list of the criteria now. Choose just one of those criteria, and write down the letters of the tiles in order, to show how closely they meet the criterion. For example, if the criterion was 'blue', the bluest tile would be at the start of the list of tiles, and the least blue tile at the end of the list.

TASK

Download the guide above, and look at the pictures of tiles from each of the cultures which has influenced Tunisia. Using the drop down menu, try to decide which tile matches each style most closely. This is exactly what historians and archaeologists do, when trying to work out the origin of tiles and other decorations they find in buildings.

TASK

Finally, answer these questions:

Write down what features of the designs were most important to you in matching a tile with an origin.

Suggest what evidence you could search for to help confirm whether your choices were right or wrong.

The Cultural Protection Fund was launched in June 2016 by the British Council in partnership with Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The £30m fund is set up to protect cultural heritage overseas at risk due to conflict.